


Pearl-Filled Lungs

by Luna_Lee



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, GaaLee Fest 2019, Inspired by Ponyo (2008), Inspired by The Little Mermaid (1989), Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Ningyo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 03:34:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20382994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Lee/pseuds/Luna_Lee
Summary: He dives beneath the waves in search of abalone and seaweed, just as his mother and her mother did before him. He swims every day the weather allows, carrying his net below the waves as he seeks what bounty the ocean has to offer. What he doesn't hope to find is a fish with the face of a man and seafoam eyes that cry tears of pearl.





	Pearl-Filled Lungs

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I told myself "do you know what you need to do? Start an entirely new fic right this instant! you will absolutely get it done in time for the fest" which was a bold-faced lie. This is _**entirely unedited**_ currently because I barely started this last night cause I am stupid and I have zero self-control. This is actually one of like.... four different ideas I have based around sea related mythology--including two other ningyo idea and a selkie idea--but this one is newer, so I'm not sure yet how long this will end up, but I'm shooting for between three and five chapters depending on where this goes when I actually sit down and plot it. 
> 
> For the GaaLee Fest, day six: fairytale/fantasy aus!

_Forgive the sea, follow the tide,  
with the monsters on your shoulder_

_Pearl diver,_  
_dive, dive deeper_  
_pearl diver,_  
_dive, dive down_  
-Pearl Diver, Miski

I.

Sunlight danced across the deep green surface of the ocean, glittering like the inside of the abalone shells he was hunting that day. His boat coasted across the water, spraying a cool mist along the sun-bleached and salt-soaked hull. Lee closed his eyes, breathing in the fresh air and allowing the rocking of the boat to sooth him. 

It was a good day to dive: the sea was calm, the winds gentle, and the water sun-warmed. Hopefully, there would also be a bounty waiting for him beneath the waves. 

“This looks like a good spot?” 

“No.” He pointed towards a cliff-side, where an outcropping of rocks jutted up from the sea like daggers. He could almost hear the distant whistles of his ancestors, of the long dead Ama before him, who'd made their living diving for seaweed and shellfish as he did now. “There.” 

He could never explain how he knew where to go—perhaps it was simply in his blood, perhaps it was some blessing the sea had granted his family centuries ago—but he always knew which direction to sail, and the wind and waves always worked in his favor. 

Behind him, Tenten grumbled. “Why do you always do this?” 

Lee turned to her with a grin. “It is a sixth sense! I just know we will find something there.” 

Tenten turned the boat's wheel and the sails caught the breeze, propelling the boat forward faster, as if called by some unknowable force towards the rocks. Lee's skin tingled, excitement and anticipation for his dive mounting as they drew closer. 

He strapped his weights to his legs in preparation for his journey beneath the waves. His boat, which was a family heirloom, did not move with any sort of haste, even with the wind in her sails. Instead, she sailed through the water at her leisure. Lee preferred it this way. He enjoyed the tranquility of sailing from place to place in search of that perfect spot to dive, he enjoyed the calm that stole over him with each gentle bob of his boat. Out in the vast ocean, he didn't need to rush, he didn't need to run. It was the only place he felt truly right. 

“All right, this should be close enough. You got everything?”

“Of course, what sort of diver do you take me for?” 

“Well, last time you forgot your goggles.” 

“They broke!” 

Tenten's expression was flat and unamused. “Did you replace them?” 

Lee bent down, riffling through his net. With a flourish, he pulled his new goggles out, dangling them in front of Tenten's annoyed face, grinning for all he was worth. “Happy?” 

“Ecstatic.” She shoved the goggles out of her face. “Hurry up then. If you don't find enough before noon, we'll miss the best spot at the market.” 

“Neji said he would find something for us,” Lee told her as he disrobed. The stark white of his loincloth soaked up the sun's warmth immediately. “Besides, when has it ever taken me long?” 

Tenten waved her hands, shooing Lee towards the edge of the boat as she dropped anchor. “Oh, forgive me for doubting you, Mr. Expert Diver.” 

Lee's responding laughter echoed across the water, like the ghostly whistles that drew him to all his diving spots. He finished greasing his torso, and then did one final check of his person: his net was free of large holes, his goggles and tortoise shell nose clip were intact, his weights were solid and comforting around his calves, his body greased to conserve warmth, and he felt energized, physically ready for hours of diving in the cold sea. 

“Don't forget to grab our dinner while you're down there,” Tenten called, tossing Lee a large knife as Lee stepped onto the short diving plank. 

“You can count on me, Tenten!” Lee gave her a thumbs up before tucking the knife into his loincloth next to the nomi he carried to pry abalone from rock. “Yosha!” 

With that, Lee dove. 

Water—cold and salty—rushed into his ears, chasing away the sound of the surface. His body plummeted as his weights pulled him down, down, down below the surface. He forced himself to slow, arching up and making for the surface again. He crested, shaking his head so that his hair flew about his face, and then whistled to Tenten. 

She whistled back, waving from the deck. “Safe diving, Lee!” 

Lee gave her another thumbs up, his smile catching the sunlight. He turned away, letting his smile fall as he focused on the rocks ahead. He was sure there would be plenty of abalone there and the water, though cold, was warmer this time of year. As long as the weather held out, Lee was sure he could get a bounty large enough to carry them through the week. 

A wave rolled across the water, lifting Lee with it. He let the current pull him where it willed for a brief moment, succumbing to the ocean's thrall before taking in great lungfuls of air, his breath whistling like ocean song. He filled his lungs once more and dove. 

The ocean floor was at least a hundred meters down, but his destination was not so deep, and today was not the day for self-imposed challenges. 

He swam through the water, wide-eyed with wonder. The clear blue-green of the water glowed with sunlight, illuminating the ocean all around him. Despite the weights around his legs, he felt light—as weightless as a feather—as he swam. The rocky ocean floor rose as he neared the cliff-side, seaweed and urchin resting in clusters. 

Lee made for one cluster, carefully unsheathing his nomi. He took only a small handful, leaving more than half of the cluster behind before moving on. 

Twenty minutes later, Lee made for the surface, his net filled with urchin, abalone, and snails. He took in a lungful of air, letting the whistling of his breath carry. He heard Tenten's answering whistle and smiled, diving back beneath the waves. 

His trajectory had taken him around the circle of rocks and he found an opening in the cliff where waves crashed within. It would be foolish to enter—even with all the strength he held in his body, he would be pulled under quickly. Instead, he turned his attention deeper, farther away from the dangerous opening of the underwater cave. 

His net was nearly full by now, but he could fit another handful of abalone, and so he let his weights pull him down, down, down—ten meters, fifteen meters, twenty-meters... 

At thirty-five meters, Lee stopped, holding himself tight and kicking his legs. The water was darker around him, a deeper blue than it had been near the surface. 

Something moved in the limited periphery of Lee's vision—a bullhead shark no doubt—and Lee twirled in the water, searching out the source of that unexpected movement. 

A glittering caught his eye.

A rock jutted up from the sea floor before him, its surface covered in shining white. Lee held still, suppressing the startled gasp that had almost escaped him. Carefully, he swam forward. 

Something rushed past him, a fish as large as him, darting behind the rocks. Lee stopped, searching the sea for any sign of danger. Carefully, he retrieved his knife, holding it before him in a tight grip. Its blade rested against his inner wrist, silver reflecting the glowing light of the pearl-encrusted rock. 

Nothing moved. 

Even the water felt still. 

With no small amount of hesitation, Lee approached the rock, running his fingers over pearl after glittering pearl. 

Bubbles exploded to one side of his face, and he whipped around as a large, scarlet body slammed into him. He gasped, mouth and lungs filling with water. His net slipped from his grasp as his bare back collided with the pearls, and ribbons of blood spiraled around him. Lee scrambled to remove his weights, to bring himself to the surface faster, but whatever had attacked him appeared again. 

His lungs ached, his back stung, and though he was desperate to reach the surface he froze as he came face to face with a creature he'd only ever heard told of in legend: a ningyo. 

The beast's eyes—like green seaglass—glittered with shining pearls at their edges, like tears caught in lashes. It met Lee's gaze, its own raging like a storm. 

Lee held his hands up in surrender, as if hoping the creature would understand what it was he intended. He needed to reach the surface soon, but if the beast before him decided to attack again Lee didn't think he would make it. 

_Please,_ he thought, helpless and afraid as his body demanded relief. 

The creature bared its teeth—sharp and edged inside a human mouth. Its lips were thin, it's face pale, and every inch of its expression rippled with tension. 

Lee could hold his breath no longer. 

Before the creature could attack him again, he sliced off his right leg weight, sending it dropping to the ocean floor as his body rose through the water. He cut the second weight, propelling him towards the surface faster. Around him, the ocean seemed to tremble. Bubbles, hot and angry, chased after him, and when he looked down he could see the ningyo gaining on him. 

He gave an almighty kick, fighting to reach the surface faster as his lungs burned. His vision dimmed, black spots dancing. Water roared in his ears, as if the ningyo itself were screaming. Something sharp pierced the skin of his ankle, but he didn't stop. The surface was so close, if he could just push himself that much more—

The ocean around him faded. His body went limp. Everything went dark.

_____________________ 

He woke in the dead of night, shaking and afraid. 

His body burned, as though he were resting on a bed of hot coals; and ached worse than overdoing it. He groaned, the sound broken and needy. 

“Lee?” Tenten's anxious voice filled his head, like being beaten with a club. She knelt beside him, her face drawn and pale. Her hair was in disarray, loose and wild about her face. 

“Wha—” Lee coughed violently, his lungs convulsing in his chest. His lungs and throat felt as though they'd met the sharp end of Tenten's blade collection, and he gasped for air, as desperate as drowning. The memory of his encounter while diving slammed into him with the same force the ningyo had. “Nin—”

“Shh, don't talk. Hey, deep breathes. It's okay.” 

Tenten helped Lee to sit up, rubbing soothing circles into his back that made the skin there sting. He hissed, but it gave way for another gasping cough, his vision bleary with tears.

Finally, he managed, “Where—hospital?”

“No shit,” Tenten said, but there was no bite to her tone. It was soft with worry and care, a sure sign that he'd almost died. “Do you... remember what happened?” 

Lee felt the color drain from his face. “I was attacked.” 

“A shark?” Tenten sounded skeptical. Lee couldn't blame her. The only sharks Lee had ever seen on his dives were docile breeds. Usually, the greatest danger he had to concern himself with was cutting himself on abalone shells. 

“I—no, it was... something else.” 

He couldn't say what kept him from telling Tenten the truth. Lee was not a liar by nature and he recoiled at his own dishonesty, but he could not summon the words to tell his tale. He knew she wouldn't believe him, but that wasn't what held his tongue. Perhaps it was the creature itself. 

“Did it take you by surprise?” 

Lee nodded. “I found—I found—” He couldn't tell her about the pearls. If word got out, others would try to find them and put themselves at risk. And if anyone else got hurt, the ningyo would most certainly be hunted, and that would only bring their island misfortune. 

“Shh, you don't have to talk about it right now,” Tenten soothed. She leaned close, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I'm just so glad you're all right. When you—” She broke off, turning her gaze from him to hide the tears in her eyes. 

Lee was reminded, starkly and unpleasantly, of the ningyo's eyes, leaking pearls.

An unexplained fear stole over him. Perhaps the ningyo had been scared, perhaps it had been all alone out there when Lee had appeared with a knife in hand, like a cruel specter haunting the ningyo's home. 

“Neji will be so happy you're okay,” Tenten said, wiping at her tears. “He's been a mess, you know?” 

“I am sorry for worrying you both.” Guilt filled him like the water that had filled his lungs. He hunched his shoulders, pulling away from Tenten. 

“Oh, no, Lee, I didn't mean—I'm sorry. I just meant—I'm sorry, please don't beat yourself up.” She took his hand in hers, squeezing with the force of her worry. 

Lee nodded, quiet and withdrawn. “Is—can we go home?” 

“Of course. I'll talk with Tsunade.” She stopped suddenly, biting her lip. “Lee, there's... there's some bad news.” 

Lee looked up into Tenten's face, all the familiar lines of it a comfort after the dark of unconsciousness. He found his voice, croaking, “What?” 

“You—your leg was badly injured. Whatever that thing was it—it ripped into your leg.” Tenten seemed to steel herself, taking in a deep breath and saying, all in a rush, “Tsunade doesn't know if you'll be able to dive anymore.” 

The darkness of the ocean filled Lee's vision like poison. Some part of him knew, deep down, what Tenten had been about to say, but hearing it spoken so plainly made him long for the death he'd narrowly escaped. If only Tenten hadn't fished him out of the water, if only he'd drowned there, floating near pearl-crusted rocks with the ningyo who'd killed him. He would have preferred for the ocean to be his grave. 

Tears stung his eyes, fat and hot. Every part of him hurt—his leg, his back, his lungs—every part of him burned—his skin, his muscles, his lungs—but none of that compared to the hole forming in his chest. 

“I—I'll go get Tsunade.” Tenten's voice broke on the words and she fled, leaving Lee to his grief. 

Outside, a heavy rain began to fall. 

_____________________ 

“Welcome home, Lee.” 

Neither Tenten or Neji sounded enthusiastic about it. Instead, they sounded subdued and sorrowful, their own regret over Lee's injury stark in the quiet of their shared home. 

Lee couldn't bring himself to say anything. He hadn't spoken much since the news of his leg, which was now bandaged so thoroughly he couldn't even see the skin. Tenten had told him, shying away from the details, that before he'd awoken it had been a shredded mess. Tsunade had been able to save the leg, but only just. 

She had made it clear to Lee that there was no hope he would ever be able to swim again. 

“What do you want for dinner?” Tenten asked, helping him to the couch. 

“I am not very hungry,” he said with a shrug. 

“You have to eat,” Neji reprimanded, leaning Lee's new crutches against the wall by the door. Neji had become like the overbearing sibling Lee had never had. Though he had spent less time at Lee's bedside than Tenten, every one of his visits had been punctuated by his need to see Lee well again. He had hounded the hospital staff and badgered Tsunade relentlessly up until the day Lee had been released. 

Though Lee was relieved to be home, he was almost certain the hospital staff's relief overshadowed his own. 

“How about something light? I can make soup.” 

Lee knew when to cut his losses—at least where Tenten and Neji were concerned. He agreed with a quiet nod and a small, forced smile. “Okay.” 

“Perfect. Neji, can you help me?” 

“If you need anything, just let us know.” 

Lee didn't need the reminder, but he accepted Neji's words without complaint. 

Once they had disappeared into the kitchen, Lee forced himself up from the couch. He'd been cooped up for too long, and even getting out of the hospital wasn't enough for him. He cringed as pain shot through his leg, working its way through his nerves until his body shook with the force of it. 

Lee clenched his jaw, gnashing his teeth to keep from crying out. Sweat broke out on his forehead, but he pushed through, making his way for the door. He ignored his crutches, anger boiling in his stomach at the sight of them, and yanked the door open, nearly stumbling as he made his way outside. 

The walk to the edge of the cliff their house was situated on was excruciating. By the time Lee reached the rickety fence that separated him and the sheer fifty meter drop, Lee was in tears. He slumped against a wooden post, his breathing labored and his vision swimming. 

A cool breeze blew, carrying with it the soothing sound of rolling waves and, beneath that, an anguished melody. It wormed its way into his heart, bringing him to his knees where he sobbed, wretched and pitiful, screaming his pain to the sky and the sea. 

It wasn't fair. What had Lee ever done to deserve this? He was always kind, he was always giving. He worked hard and he loved harder. Why had that ningyo done this to him? Why had the ocean abandoned him? 

Lee cried himself hoarse, and then he cried some more. He didn't think he could stop. 

A drop of rain hit his face, mingling with his never-ending tears. Gray clouds rolled in, blotting out the sun, and the wind howled with that terrible melody that seemed to echo the pain in his heart. Far below, somewhere past the local diving spots, Lee heard the echo of a familiar whistle. 

He looked out across the water with tired, blood-shot eyes; he looked out towards the place where the pearl-crusted rocks jutted up from the ocean and waves crashed against into an underwater cave; he looked until he could see the distant figures through the haze of steadily falling rain. His pupils blew wide as a familiar red caught his eye. 

He shook himself and the vision faded. 

But he carried the impression of it with him as he hobbled back home through the pouring rain. 

_____________________ 

Rain pelted the windows of his room in relentless waves. 

Tenten and Neji had been unable to work since the storm had hit, and both of them were keeping a careful watch on Lee in case he tried to venture out again. 

He understood that it was for his own good, but he resented it nonetheless. He hated having nothing to do, and he hated being forced to rest. A week or a month, resting wasn't going to change the reality of his life. Even once he was healed, he wasn't going to be able to swim again, so the least Neji and Tenten could do would be to treat him like they always had and let him leave the house. 

“This storm just won't quit,” Lee heard Tenten say from her and Neji's bedroom. 

Lee couldn't take it anymore. He threw his bed covers off of himself and swung his legs from the bed. The pain in his injured leg was only nominally better than it had been when he'd arrived home, but he'd grown used to it and he only winced a little as he rose to his feet and opened his bedroom window. 

He glanced back at his door and the crutches leaning nearby. Guilt swelled like the sea, but he shook it off. He couldn't stay here another moment. He felt silly as he climbed from his bedroom window, like a teenager in trouble with his parents. He was sure that Neji and Tenten would act just as unreasonably once he returned home, but right then and there, it didn't matter. He needed to be free. 

The journey from his bedroom window—which was on the second floor—was a treacherous and awkward one, but Lee was able to overcome the challenge. All his years of training his body to be the peak of physical endurance had paid off with that single, daring escape from the confinement of his overbearing best friends. 

Soaked through and beaming, Lee hobbled down the road, making for the docks where his family boat was being buffeted in the wind along with the rest of the ships there. Waves crashed into ships and onto the docks, flooding ships with water that cascades over the sides before being replaced by yet another wave crashing. Several ships farther out have sunk, there prows the only thing that remain visible on the surface. 

His own boat, small and old as she was, had withstood the storm. Some part of him had feared the worst, but against all odds his boat was fine. The sight of it was a salve for his aching heart and Lee had to stop himself from breaking down in tears. 

The docks were emptier than Lee had ever seen them, like an abandoned ghost town with the angry sea its poltergeist. But Lee doesn't care. Despite the heavy rain and wild winds, he was finally back where he belonged. 

He slipped and slid along the dock as he approached his boat, somehow managing to keep his footing. His bandaged leg was protesting all the exertion, but Lee was single-minded in his determination and barely noticed it as he boarded his boat. A wave crashed into it as he pulled himself up, nearly knocking him into the water. He fought to keep his footing, making his way, slipping and sliding into the tiny, cramped helm to fall into the seat there while more waves crash against the docks.

Immediately, he began to laugh, almost hysterical. 

And then he heard that distant, familiar whistle. 

His laughter died and he whipped his head around, but there was no way for him to see through the storm. Yet, just as he always knew where to dive, he knew what was calling him. 

_“Ningyo.”_

Some part of him knew he was an idiot, that this was the most foolish thing he'd ever done, but he wasn't in full control of his senses. The rational part of his brain had been quashed by days of being cooped up; the logical part of himself had been overruled by the pent up energy and emotion that he hadn't been able to release. 

In a haze, as if someone else were in control of his body, Lee untied his boat from it's tether. 

The rain slowed, the howling of the wind subsided to a dull roar, and Lee turned the wheel of his boat, bringing the prow around to face towards the open ocean. 

There was a moment of clarity—where the wind and rain fell silent, and Lee could hear nothing but the memory of the gentle ocean—and then he heard the song, that melancholic song, and he became a man possessed once more. 

The rain lashed at his boat and the wind whipped at his sails, but he didn't care. He gripped the handles of the steering wheel, every muscle fighting against the force of the ocean as he guided his ship across the turbulent sea. A wave crashed against the helm of his boat, cracking the glass of one window, and he turned the wheel again, pushing his boat to turn again. 

It was a daunting, daring journey from harbor to sea, but once on the open water, some fifty yards from the docks, a sense of calm washed over Lee. The storm still held his boat in its clutches, tossing her about like a rag doll, but the rational sense of fear was drowned out by the song still singing through Lee's veins. 

He stared ahead, his mouth pressed in a thin line, his eyes a bit wild, his hair clinging to his forehead like rivulets of ink. The boat rocked as a wave rose up on her port side, and Lee turned the wheel hard, riding the wave to its conclusion before turning his boat back around. 

Ahead, lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating Lee's path, as if the gods themselves had said, “This way.” 

The tips of the pearl-crusted rocks seemed to glow, an ethereal light radiating from the water around them. The song grew louder, and Lee's blood burned, a force like nothing he'd ever known taking hold of his soul. Without rhyme or reason, he whistled, taking in breaths of air as if readying himself for a dive. 

He turned the wheel of his boat again, cresting over another wave as an answering whistle echoed above the song and the storm, and Lee grinned like a madman, a frenzy working its way through him. He whistled again, his head spinning. 

All too suddenly, he came upon the rocks. He forced his ship around, narrowly avoiding crashing into them. 

He turned his ship back around, pulling away from the rocks before dropping anchor. He raced to the edge of the boat, searching the water's surface for any signs of the ningyo. 

“I know you are out there!” he shouted, frantically scanning the choppy surface of the sea. The water was dark, black and gray with seafoam, churning away in the storm. Even the light from the pearls he was sure he'd seen had been extinguished. 

He'd come this far, he wasn't going to turn back without—without what? He didn't even know. He didn't know what had possessed him, what had carried him this far through stormy waters, and he didn't know why. But he was here, and he wasn't going to leave without something—anything. 

He ripped off his shirt, throwing it aside and climbing up onto the edge of his boat. There was an angry howl from the storm and another clap of lighting, and then Lee was airborne...

And then he hit the water. 

He was pulled down, down, down into the ocean's depths. He didn't think, he didn't fear, he didn't care. His body was limp, sinking through the suddenly calm waters. He opened his eyes. All was dark and murky for a moment, and his vision was hazy without goggles, but then just as suddenly, a light shown. 

The pearls beneath the water glowed and the song that had carried Lee there echoed strangely beneath the water. Within the light, something dark moved. Lee's injured leg pulsed, a sudden and stark reminder of his limitations and the danger he was in. 

And just as he remembered his injury, exhaustion seeped into his bones. He'd pushed himself beyond the limit of reasonable, fighting through injury and storm to get to this place. He had defied logic and sanity, all to scream at a creature that could and almost had killed him. 

Desperation clings to his skin like the water around him and with effort, he moves his arms, trying to bring himself back to the surface, but the water is heavy and his arms feel suddenly weak. 

By his calculations, he has twenty-seven minutes before he passes out. 

Thoughts of Neji and Tenten swim to the forefront of his mind, a healthy dose of guilt along with them. He never should have done this; he never should have left them. They were his family, his best friends. He was going to miss their wedding now, he was going to miss the day they had children; he was going to miss so many smiles and so many tears; he wasn't going to be there when Tenten and Neji had a fight and needed someone to talk to; he wasn't going to be there for anything.

If he could have cried underwater, he would have. 

That dark shape, familiar for how many times Lee had dreamed of it, loomed. Without his goggles and with the storm above, the figure was a shapeless terror filling Lee's vision. He couldn't make out it's face through the darkness, but it lingered within the light from the pearls so that the water around it looked as though it were still inked with Lee's blood. 

Lee watched it. 

And it watched him. 

If he could have made out its expression, he would have felt less foreboding, but he supposed it didn't matter either way. Perhaps it would be better if the ningyo killed him—it would be faster and less painful than drowning, at any rate, and waiting for his time to run out was far more daunting than waiting to be attacked. 

He fluttered his arms back and forth, keeping himself level with the ningyo without exerting himself. The bandages on his legs had unraveled in the storm, and now they floated like a sea serpent around Lee, drifting lazily into his vision. He reached for them, pulling them out of his line of sight. 

The ningyo was gone. 

He turned, searching wildly within the pearl-light. He pulled himself forward, swimming as best he could, and looking every which way as he moved through the water. There was movement to his right, a dark shadow peering at him from around more rocks. 

Was the ningyo hiding from him? Why? Their last encounter had been so volatile, so deadly. Why was it keeping its distance when it had nearly killed Lee before? Why not now when Lee was unarmed? When his death was only twenty minutes away? Did it know? Did it want him to suffer, to die slow and painfully? 

If he could have cried, if he could have begged—he would have. 

_Just kill me_, he thought. _Please._

The song that had filled him pulsed like an echo through the water. Something rippled before the ningyo, and Lee heard, as plain as if he were on the surface, _No._

He furrowed his brow, a tight knot forming in his stomach. _Was that..._

_Yes._

_You can talk?_

_So can you._

_Well, yes, but I am human._

The ningyo disappeared, backing into its pearl-covered hideaway. 

_Wait! Please!_

The shadow of the ningyo appeared again, hovering above Lee now. _Why have you returned?_

Lee looked up, staring into the blurry face of the ningyo, so much closer than before. _I... I heard your song. That was you, right?_

The ningyo drew closer, its face so close Lee could almost make out its features through the water's haze. _How could you hear it? You're human._

Lee had thought he was imagining things, that he'd been dreaming up the anguish of the ama before him. He hadn't known until that very moment that the song he'd heard, so beautiful and haunting, had been the ningyo's. _I did not know it was you._

_You thought it was ghosts._ The ningyo's eyes were bright in the pearl light, even without goggles, and they regarded Lee carefully. He could almost see the dangerous gaze, could almost feel it cutting into him. _You shouldn't have come. _

_But—your song! You called me here. _

_I didn't call you!_ Pearls hung, fresh and bright, at corners of the ningyo's eyes. Lee lifted a hand, drawn by some unnameable force to wipe them away. 

_You are crying,_ he thought, and the ningyo flinched away from him, darting behind a rock. _Who were you calling?_

The ningyo peered from around its rock, its visage nothing but a stark white light surrounded by its blood-red hair. _My family._

_Did you get separated? _

_Yes._

_How?_

The water rippled, and Lee looked up to see a flash of lightning rip across the sky. Around the ningyo, the water bubble furiously. _How? How else?_

Lee's eyes went wide and he fought back the horrified gasp he felt rise. _It was humans?_

The ningyo's silence was all the answer Lee needed. 

_Did you think I was going to hurt you? When you attacked me?_

_I saw your weapon. I know what you were planning._

_But you are wrong! I was searching for abalone! I would not have harmed you!_

_Then why did you have that knife?_

_For protection!_

The ningyo swam forward, once again invading Lee's personal space, its face centimeters from his. It might have been handsome in the right light, perhaps out of the water and without the fish body and the sharp teeth. It was such a peculiar experience, talking to a fish with a face underwater as he slowly ran out of oxygen. 

_You'll die if you stay here much longer._

_I cannot swim._

_You swam well enough the other day. _

_That was before you hurt me._ Lee gestured, holding out his injured leg. The skin was a mangled mess of scarring tissue and stitches stretching the entire length of his calf. It was amazing he'd managed to make it down to his boat at all. 

_I—I thought you were going to kill me._

_That is all right. I forgive you._ Lee had been so angry since his accident, so hopeless, but floating beneath the water, weightless and drowning as he talked with this ningyo, he felt free from all that. He finally felt at peace. It wasn't the ningyo's fault. It wasn't anyone's. 

Lee was happy, and he held on to it for as long as he had left. He didn't want to die sad or angry, he wanted to die happy and peaceful. 

_Do you have a name?_ Lee asked. _I know I will die soon, but I would like to know it._

_Gaara._

_Gaara? That is a peculiar name. I like it. I am Rock Lee, but you can just call me Lee._ He gave an awkward little half-bow, smiling up into Gaara's face. The salt of the ocean coated his tongue as water slipped between his teeth, but for a moment Lee had almost forgotten that he had anything to worry about. _I am so glad I got to meet you, Gaara. I hope you find your family and that they are okay._

Gaara swam closer, nudging Lee. _You need to get back to the surface._

Gaara was right. It seemed Lee hadn't properly prepared for his dive into the deep—he'd run out of time ten minutes early. A lightness enveloped him, like rising from the ocean floor, and his vision dimmed until all he could see was Gaara's strangely handsome face.

_You have a scar,_ Lee thought hazily, reaching out and running his fingers across the gnarled skin of Gaara's forehead. It was a strange scar in the shape of a broken heart. Lee's eyes already burned from the salt-water, but they hurt anew, as though his tears might have found a way to fall after all. 

_Lee._ There was a note of desperation in Gaara's voice, in the way he said Lee's name. 

Lee closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face as the world finally went black.


End file.
